Kaji Aso Studio, Boston

Tea ceremonies at the studio are conducted by Kate Finnegan, who studied under the studio's founder Kaji Aso from 1980 until his passing in 2006. Ms. Finnegan (the studio's director and also a professor at Tufts University and at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts) is assisted by apprentice, Jane Kim. The ceremonies take place each Sunday from 4 - 6 p.m. by reservation only. (Reservations are required 48 hours in advance - $30/pp. Private ceremonies and large group tea ceremonies for groups of 20+ can also be arranged on Friday evenings, Saturday afternoons, or Saturday evenings.)

The studio is located in a brownstone building in downtown Boston, a building I had certainly passed before without taking particular notice. Entering the building you can see that it was clearly a residence that has been re-purposed with little architectural change. The front room has been painted white and is adorned with various artworks created by Mr. Aso. The back room is also very plain with a piano in place for use during their special events.

To access the House of Flower Wind you are led downstairs, through the ceramics studio. Again, nothing is particularly fancy here. This is definitely a working art space. I did like having the chance to see some of the ceramics pieces as we passed through into the Japanese garden.

The garden is small and simple, but a lovely oasis in the midst of the city. There are flowering trees and a small fish pond. (The day we visited there had been a plumbing problem and the fish were being kept in 5 gallon buckets...) There are some lovely stone pieces and small fountains interspersed throughout the garden. You are then led back into a second door in the brownstone to an area where you can remove your shoes and prepare for the ceremony.

The teahouse is constructed within a room of the brownstone. Guests are invited in through the low door to take their places, kneeling, facing the tea master and the apprentice. They should be certain to remove rings so they do not scratch the special tea bowls. Visitors are given brief instructions of what to expect and how to participate appropriately.

The tea master and apprentice made the experience extremely comfortable. Yes, there are many steps to remember, but there is no need to worry about being perfect. Ms. Finnegan and Ms. Kim give gentle instruction and are willing to answer questions. While the tea taking process is done in silence, after each serving there is time for conversation. We learned a bit about tea ceremony and its tradition, the tea, and the teaware. We had the opportunity to explore all of the teaware used - which ranged from pieces newly created in the studio to pieces acquired on trips to pieces that were hundreds of years old. (I was very glad I wasn't told that I was holding a 600 year old cup until after the fact.)

There were two servings of tea. The first was a light matcha with a light sweet. The second was a stronger matcha with a heavier pastry. (The wafer-textured pastry was filled with adzuki beans or yuzu and had just arrived from Japan the day before.) The mood was so calm and serene that it was very easy to embrace the mood of the moment and experience each minute fully.

I will certainly return to Kaji Aso and hope that you take the time to visit on your own.

Taken from http://teapages.blogspot.com/